{"id":62436,"date":"2025-12-23T18:18:56","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T12:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=62436"},"modified":"2025-12-23T18:19:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T12:49:13","slug":"india-new-zealand-fta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-12-2025\/india-new-zealand-fta","title":{"rendered":"India \u2013 New Zealand Free Trade Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR; GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India and New Zealand <\/strong>have concluded <strong>a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has signed <strong>six Free Trade Agreements<\/strong> in the<strong> last five years,<\/strong> the latest being with <strong>Oman.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India -UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India-EFTA Trade &amp; Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, 2024.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India- United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), 2022.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India- Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), 2022.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India \u2013 Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership (CECPA), 2021.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a pact between two or more countries where they agree to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reduce or eliminate customs duties on goods<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Liberalise trade in services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide investment protection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure safeguards for intellectual property rights (IPR).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Highlights of the FTA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Zero-Duty Market Access<\/strong>: India-New Zealand FTA <strong>eliminates duty on 100% of Indian Exports.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has offered market<strong> access in 70.03% <\/strong>of the <strong>tariff lines while keeping 29.97 % tariff lines in exclusion.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>FDI Commitment:<\/strong> New Zealand will invest<strong> USD 20 billion<\/strong> in India over 15 years, strengthening long-term economic ties.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Organic Primary Products:<\/strong> Mutual recognition of organic certification to be agreed between the two sides.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MSME Cooperation: <\/strong>Institutional linkages to help small businesses access trade-related information and global markets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technical Assistance:<\/strong> Cooperation has been agreed in AYUSH, audio visual industries, tourism, sports and traditional knowledge systems.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The FTA promotes India\u2019s AYUSH systems internationally, encourages medical value travel, and positions India as a global wellness hub.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Best-Ever Offer by New Zealand:<\/strong> Commitment across 118 services sectors, with Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment in 139 sectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Student Mobility: <\/strong>New Zealand signed Annex on Student Mobility and Post Study Work Visa for the first time with any country.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Indian students can work up to 20 hours per week while studying, even if there are policy changes in future, with extended post-study work visas (STEM Bachelor: 3 yrs; Master\u2019s: up to 3 yrs; Doctorate: up to 4 yrs).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Professional Pathways:<\/strong> A quota of 5,000 visas for skilled Indians for stay upto 3 years in the sectors of interest to India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Working Holiday Visa: <\/strong>1,000 young Indians annually can avail multiple entry in New Zealand for a period of 12 months.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Certain products are kept in exclusion<\/strong> from the dairy and agriculture sector of India, which is a huge win for labour intensive sectors.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dairy, animal products, vegetable products, sugar, artificial honey, Animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils, Arms and Ammunition, Gems and Jewellery, Copper and Articles, Aluminium and articles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance to India from FTA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The India\u2013New Zealand FTA secures <strong>duty free or preferential access across a wide range of sectors.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These gains are expected to boost India\u2019s exports, create jobs, and strengthen the competitiveness of Indian industries in the Oceania region.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dedicated cooperation in Ayush and Indian traditional knowledge<\/strong> has been agreed.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Engagement with <strong>New Zealand\u2019s indigenous Maori communities<\/strong> to promote cultural exchange and mutual respect. This strengthens India\u2019s <strong>soft power and global recognition of its heritage.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gains in Horticulture Sector: <\/strong>New Zealand has agreed on <strong>focused Action Plans for kiwifruit, apples, and honey <\/strong>to improve productivity, quality, and sectoral capabilities of these<strong> fruits growers in India.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Projects for premium apple cultivators and sustainable beekeeping practices will enhance production and quality standards.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This access will be managed through a <strong>Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system<\/strong> with Minimum Import Price and seasonal imports, ensuring consumer choice while protecting domestic farmers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/Industry\/expecting-bilateral-trade-with-new-zealand-to-double-in-five-years-with-fta-piyush-goyal\/article70425818.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India and New Zealand have concluded a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA).<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>About<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India has signed six Free Trade Agreements in the last five years, the latest being with Oman.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), 2025.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India -UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), 2025.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-12-2025\/india-new-zealand-fta\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62438,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62436\/revisions\/62438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}